9 categories, 4 specialist sections, new awards night, more on air exposure, greater online participation - the 1233 ABC Newcastle Music Awards continues to support original Hunter and Central Coast musicians in 2009.

In its eight year history the 1233 ABC Newcastle Music Awards has attracted close to 3000 entries with hundreds of tracks featured on the 1233 ABC Newcastle playlist. Entries for 2009 open Monday 25 May and close Friday 3 July 2009.

The prestigious ABC Music Artist of the Year Award provides the winner with an opportunity to have their music released by ABC Music, Australia's largest independent record label. In addition, the winner of the ABC Music Publishing and APRA Songwriters and Composers Recognition Award will receive a $1000 cash prize to support their creative endeavours. Other awards include the Broadcasters' Choice, Best Female and Male Vocals, Best Young Talent awards and Best Sound Production, combined with a range of specialist genre categories.

The 1233 ABC Newcastle Tour Support prize, successfully introduced last, year includes $1233 to assist with tour costs as well as a half-day session with a nationally renowned publicist.

Entrants also have the opportunity to receive valuable airplay time across 1233 ABC Newcastle and 92.5FM Central Coast, as well as other national ABC networks such as Triple J, Classic FM and DIG.

Online is vital in the ongoing success of the Music Awards. As a condition of entry this year, musicians will be required to upload their songs - as well as any related photos and videos to ABC Contribute ( http://contibute.abc.net.au ); an online place for all Australians to get their own profile page, blog and storage for unlimited media uploads.

For the first time this year the Music Awards will have its own Facebook group where ABC audio, stories, photos and videos will be shared in the broader online community.

To expose the entrants to as wide an audience as possible, this year's awards presentation will involve a combination of both on air announcements and selected public appearances at a local venue. We want to showcase the Awards Night in a way that recognises where the music is really played and made - on air and in the venues.